A New Light
by longlostnite
Summary: Originally a one shot after POST PARTUM, but I got a request to extend it.  Chapter 1 is PG.  Chapter 2 is M, so if you don't want to read anything racy, Skip this one!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not sure if this will be continued or if I'm done. I just felt like Mike needed a little potential lovin' of his own.**

Title: A New Light

Author: longlostnite

Pair: Mike/Coreen

Rating: K

Summary: Mike gives Coreen a ride home and then…

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Archives: after Post Partum

Vicki and Henry stayed behind to talk to Marlise and Mitch after the good doctor had been taken away, so Mike, being the gentleman he was, offered Coreen a ride home. As they settled into the ride back into the city, Mike just had to ask, "So, what cha gonna do with all that iron now that there's not a swardelfen to get rid of?"

"Return some of it to my friend Joey at the museum, then just put the rest of it away."

"You mean that stuff's yours?" He was looking at Coreen in a whole new way.

"Not all of it, just the sword, the shield, the crossbow and the mace."

"Just?"

"What? Never known a woman who had a mace before?"

"No, not really. But then I've never known a woman who made her own bullets before either."

"It's not that hard. I could show you."

"You keep that stuff at your place?"

"Yeah. Now that I don't have a roommate that doesn't steal my stuff. You should come up."

Mike thought about that for a minute. You couldn't say Coreen wasn't an interesting woman. No, girl. He looked at her again. No, _Woman. _He was seeing Coreen in a new light. One he wanted to explore a little more.

tbc maybe


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Part 2 is definitely not PG, so if you don't want to read this part, stop now! LOL Otherwise, hope you like it.

Title: A New Light Pt 2

Author: longlostnite

Pair: Mike/Coreen

Rating: M

Summary: Mike gives Coreen a ride home and then…

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Part 2 (for Gracie, 'cause she asked)

Mike wasn't sure what he thought her place would look like, but walking into Coreen's apartment, he was surprised. Except for the two huge bookcases filled with everything from alchemy to zerophilia, it looked (dare he say it) _normal_. He took off his coat and laid it across the overstuffed chair by the door. She saw the look on his face, said, "What? You were expecting voodoo dolls, boiling caldrons and whatnot?"

"Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but this is very nice, Coreen." He turned slowly 360 degrees taking in the shabby chic love seat and chairs, antique sideboard, dining room table and a shelf full of those hideous little troll dolls that were so popular back in the 70's. Walls were painted a pale lemon color and framed sketches were hung all over. "Friends of mine from school did those for me." She said by way of explanation.

_Friends of hers from school. _He mentally shook his head._ God, she was young_. Too young. "Your friends are very talented. I mean, I guess. I'm not very artistically inclined."

"I don't know about that, you've turned into a pretty good writer of fiction."

The look on his face said, huh?

"The police reports you write about the cases?"

He smiled, and Coreen thought _When he does that, he is so hot! In a normal sort of way. I wonder what he looks like first thing in the morning._

"You want a beer?"

"You're not old enough to drink."

Coreen spoke over her shoulder as she headed for the fridge, "No, but I'm old enough to make bullets, a flamethrower and research how to get rid of a succubus."

"Point made and taken, Coreen. You're an old 19."

She stuck her head out of the kitchen, "Was that a slam?" She was teasing, but she didn't think Mike realized it because his ears were turning an interesting shade of red.

"No, it was acknowledging that even if you're only 19 in years, you're an old soul and I promise I will do my best to not treat you like a kid anymore."

"Good. Because I'm not, you know." She walked back into the living room and handed him a beer. "I've seen things no person three times my age has seen. Or should see. And I'm still here."

"That's because you think it's cool to go hunting evil elves with swords, or chasing down the undead." He took the beer from her, and they moved to the couch. Mike sat, and Coreen sat next to him and gave him a gentle shove.

"That's because it is." She grinned, and Mike shook his head. She _was_ unique. Unique in her own way just like Vicki was. A shadow crossed his face and Coreen saw it.

"What?"

"What?"

"There was a shadow that crossed your face, just now. Were you just thinking about Vicki?" The shadow crossed her face this time. "Are you still in love with her, Mike?"

He thought about it for a minute, then looked her in the eye when he spoke, "No, I'm not. She's been a part of me for such a long time, I always thought if we stopped being what we were, there would be no way I could move on. There was this space in me where she fit" he inhaled, "and I thought if that ever changed, I wouldn't be able to fix it or fill it up, no matter what I did. Ever since she met Fitzroy, that's changed. She's gone somewhere I can't, no, I don't _want_ to go. Now, she's still a part of me, but it's time to move on." He grinned sheepishly, "I've even tried dating, but the truth is," he looked Coreen in the eye, "I couldn't be with someone who didn't understand that Vicki is a part of me. That will _always_ be there. Even if we're not together, she'll always be my friend. If she calls, I'll go. That's what friends do. They watch each other's back." He laughed a little, "And that's the longest speech I've ever made." He looked at her then, and the face he saw wasn't the one that was usually there.

Up until that moment, Coreen had been teasing Mike, but when he finished talking, and looked at her with eyes that held both pain and love, she reached out a hand and placed it on his square, strong jaw. "That's what friends _should_ be. Someone who can call you at three in the morning to go for breakfast or bail you out of jail. Someone who gets it when you make a stupid joke to cover up another feeling. Someone who feels your pain and would do anything to make it stop." Tears had welled in her eyes while she was talking and all Mike wanted to do was dry them. To fix it so she would never have to cry again. He leaned into her, his arms reaching around to pull her towards him. When he kissed her, she felt the stirring that hadn't been there since Ian had been murdered. There had been other lovers, but they weren't important to her. The man who was pulling her into him was. She realized with a shock that Mike _was_ important, more important than wanting Henry, a fact she acknowledged with surprise. Henry was fantasy. Mike was reality. She grinned and kissed him back, moving her arms around his neck, snaking her tongue out to invade his mouth. It was a mutual invasion. He began to explore her lips, her tongue, kissing gently at first, then with greater urgency. His hand moved to the front, reaching for her breast, rubbing her nipple through her blouse and wanting more. She responded in kind, loosening his tie, unbuttoning his shirt. His hand stopped her. "Are you sure about this? We can stop right now and everything goes back to the way it was."

"Mike?"

"What?"

"Shut the hell up and come with me." She stood up from the couch and reached for his hand. He took it and she led him down a short hallway and when they entered the bedroom, Mike was surprised again. She was no typical 19 year old. He'd half expected the room to be a mess, with clothes flung everywhere. Instead, the queen size bed was clear, and he realized Coreen was as much a neat freak as he was. He grinned.

She turned and saw it, returning the smile. "What?"

"Nothing." He walked her backwards toward the bed and gently pushed her back onto it, leaning over her. He started unbuttoning the blouse, flabbergasted at how tiny they were. And how many.

"Let me help," she breathed and started from the bottom. When they were done and the blouse was pushed off, she finished what she'd started in the living room, and pulled off his shirt and his tie. She reached for his belt buckle, felt the cool leather that held his service pistol and stopped. "I know that's your pistol, so you must be happy to see me." That broke the tension and the frenzied removal of clothing became a slow strip tease. When they were free of them, Coreen started to run her hands around his chest. She stopped at his nipples and replaced her hands with her tongue, licking them, and took satisfaction in hearing him moan. While she was doing that, her hands resumed their trek downward, towards his manhood, and using both hands played with him, deepening the sound coming from his throat. She was still manipulating him when he put his hands on her arms and whispered, "I get to play now." He pushed her onto to her back, his mouth traveling from her jaw, down her neck until he blindly found her breasts. "Precious," he whispered. It was her turn to moan when his tongue found one and pushed the other one close enough so he could encompass them both with his mouth. She tasted so sweet. Goose bumps rose on her skin and already she could feel the rush of a climax. Mike felt it too and whispered on her skin, "Not yet, Cory." His mouth left her breasts and began kissing the skin between them and her center. When he reached it, his tongue darted out, licking just below the nub, causing her to shudder. His tongue explored as far as it could, desperate to get as far as was humanly possible. He didn't have to push her legs further apart, she was doing it for him, begging him silently to go further. His mouth attached itself to her, licking, sucking, pulling her into him, wanting more. She tried to help by pushing his farther down. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stand this feeling, she just didn't want it to stop. Mike could feel her skin start to contract, and began his way back up, maneuvering himself between her legs. Coreen tried to help, grabbing him and placing him at the gate to her. He pushed and entered her. She was tight, ready for him, and wanted nothing more than to feel it all. He began to thrust slowly, then a little faster. An almost inaudible gasp escaped her and all she wanted was for him to move into her over and over. His rhythm picked up, going faster and faster and she matched him stroke for stroke. They collided, then pulled back, then collided again and Coreen thought, _"The others were amateurs, he is perfect." _ Mike continued, his thrusts slamming into her with such force the breathe was almost knocked out of them both. Coreen felt it coming and let it wash over her, bathing her in sensation. One last thrust sent them both over the edge and they merged together. Mike thought, _"I don't care what the experts say, first time is amazing." _When they were sated, he hovered over her, supporting himself on the elbows, bending to kiss her face. Slow soft gentle buzz touches all over. Coreen looked at him with those huge eyes of hers and said, "If you're going to keep doing that, you'd better be prepared to follow through."

Mike looked at her through half closed eyes, his smile creating his dimples, "That can be arranged." And smiled lazily at her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yes, this is very short, and I apologize, but I wanted to get the proverbial morning after out of the way and move on. So apologies for the shortness, more will follow! Thanks for reading and once again, much to my disappointment I was told by tptb that Blood Ties doesn't actually belong to me. What's up with that?**

A New Light

Part 3

He woke up tangled in sheets and comforter, with the sun trying to make its way into the morning sky. And Coreen.

She was wrapped around him like ivy on a trellis. And he liked it. It was a nice feeling to wake up with someone. There had been one night stands, but they had only filled a part of the need in him. He always woke up feeling restless, the urge to go always so much stronger than the urge to stay. This morning, he wanted to stay. It had been a long time since he had felt contentment when his eyes opened. He could feel her, breathing softly on his chest and he quietly grinned, moving his arms just a little tighter around her, then stopped. What if she regretted last night? Everyone's emotions had been running high and he thought, no, he was **afraid** she'd wake up and be sorry about what had happened. He knew _he_ wasn't, but life with Vicki had always been such an emotional roller coaster, he didn't know what to expect with this woman beside him now. Vicki had been the main woman in his life for so long now, he wanted to be prepared for Coreen's possible rejection of him. He felt her eyelashes on his chest as her eyes opened slowly. Felt her mouth form a smile.

"Are you awake, Mike?" She whispered.

"Yeah, just for a minute or so though." He moved his mouth to the top of her head and grazed his lips on her hair. She still smelled like fresh rain. And sex. And him. "Are you okay?"

The grin spread across her face, "I'm so much better than okay. It's been a long time since I woke up actually happy." Her face looked up at him. "What about you?"

"I was afraid." He was stunned that the works came out of his mouth._ I'm a strong Italian male! I can't be afraid. Or at least admit to it out loud._

"Why?" He could feel her frowning against his chest.

"Afraid you'd be sorry. That you'd think this was a horrible mistake and that we'd never be comfortable around each other again."

She raised up on her arm and put her hand on that square jaw. "Don't be. Ever. Last night was amazing, and even with my makeup smeared, my hair crazy and morning breath, I feel even more comfortable now than I did before. The only question I have, and I know this is such a chick thing, is what happens now?" She raised an eyebrow as her hand slid underneath the sheets to find him already waiting for him.

"I have an idea or two about that." He leaned over her, brushing her face with his mouth, finding her lips, then her tongue, pulling away to tell her, "And after that, we'll go get breakfast." He kissed her. His morning stubble scratching her skin. She thought it was one of the most erotic things she'd ever felt. "And after _that_, whatever you want to do today is fine with me." He kissed her. "I'm off for the next two days. We'll go as slow or as fast as you need to." His hands tangled into her hair as his mouth searched for what he had found last night and didn't want to let go. When he pulled her into him, she went willingly. They made it out of bed around noon and headed for brunch, to satisfy the other hunger they'd found with each other.


End file.
